10.24.2011

ColorPlay Ropes - Cubic Right Angle Weave

I've had a few people ask me about my ColorPlay necklaces, and I thought I would just write up a quick how-to for those who might be interested in trying it.

First off, if you aren't familiar with cubic right angle weave, or haven't tried it before, I HIGHLY recommend watching the free tutorial by fellow Bead Maven Heather Collin. Click HERE for the link, you won't regret it at all, I think this is the best tutorial I've seen on this stitch. Practice a bit to get comfortable with the stitch, so you're familiar with how the beads sit. The 'top' and 'bottom' of your cube consist of horizontal beads (holes side to side), and all of the 'side' beads are vertical beads (holes up and down).

One of the reasons I call these ColorPlay is because I just sit down and play with a bunch of bead soup. Mix up a pile of your favorite colored beads in all shapes and sizes. You will need to have, at minimum, size 11s (doesn't matter if they're cylinders or rounds), size 15s, size 8s, and some accent beads. I have included in mine; large (16mm+) gemstone beads, freshwater pearls, crystals, cube beads, triangle beads (from size 11 all the way up to 6s), bugle beads, hex beads, just about anything in my stash. (It's harder to work with crystals because of the sharp edges, but you can include them as well, just reinforce your stitch.)

Once you have the colors and beads you're happy with, begin a cubic right angle weave rope; start with a few cubes of 11s. I use 11s for almost all of my horizontal beads, as I feel they make a nice sturdy base for the accent beads. Once I have a few units of 11s down, I start mixing up the vertical beads.

Units: For my ropes, I use 2 size 15 beads as one for my vertical beads; so I will pick up two 15s, an 11 and two more 15s to start my unit. Then I add two 15s and an 11, two 15s and an 11, and finally one 11 in the last stitch. You will end up with a unit that has size 11 beads across the 'top' and 'bottom' and two size 11 beads as each 'side' bead. Do several units this way, and then switch to another kind of bead for the vertical beads. Use 1 size 8, one 11, one size 8 and make a unit that way, or a bugle bead, an 11, and a bugle bead. I use ANY of the beads for the vertical beads and just play with it. (You may want to reinforce your stitches with the bugle beads, and I wouldn't use really long ones as they tend to twist inside the units and are more likely to break your thread; stick with the shorter, little ones, they match the 15s units better.)

You can also start a unit on your base of 11s, and gradually increase the size of your beads to make your rope wider; use an 8, a 6 (or a 4mm bead), and an 8 and complete your unit using those beads. Make the next unit with all 6s. To taper it back down, make one unit with a 6, an 8 and a 6 as your beads, the next unit with an 8, an 11 and an 8, and finally back to just 11s.

Here and there, I add single larger beads as accents. To do this, I will pick up my large bead, and one 11. Go back through the larger bead, skipping the 11 and leaving that on top of your large bead. Bring your needle back through opposite side of the base bead as though you have made a stitch, and through into the next base bead. Go back up through the large bead and add a size 11, and back down through the large bead. Bring your needle through the base bead you exited from, and through the next base bead. Repeat this two more times, so that you have four 11s on the top of your large bead. Finally, come back through the large bead and exit one of the 11s (it doesn't matter which one). Go through each of your 11s to turn them into a circle - and now you have the base to begin a new unit of cubic RAW and continue your rope.

To make your ends look neater by the larger beads, you can add some 15s or 11s around the connection points, if you'd like. Coming out of one of the 11s that you used to connect the larger stone, string one 15, and pass through the next 11 - repeat around the circle and then go up through the large bead and do the same to the beads you used to connect there. In the photo of my Sand and Sea bracelet below, I actually connected the lamp work bead with 8s; I added 3mm crystals in between each of the 8s at the connection points.

Some freshwater pearls will not have holes large enough to make this number of passes. To connect them firmly, I exit a base bead, string the pearl and two 11s, and come back down through the pearl, and then through the base bead again. Go through two more base beads, until you are at the bead opposite the one you strung the pearl from, then go back up through the pearl and add two more 11s. Back down through the pearl and the base bead you started from. Go through the pearl and circle the 11s. Line up the 11s on the top of the pearl with the ones on the rope; pick one of the beads you DIDN'T use to string the pearl, and string enough 15s on your thread to reach the size 11 bead that corresponds to your top 11; go through the bottom 11, back up through the 15s, and weave through the top 11 you started from. Weave through to the opposite bead on top of the pearl, and repeat this by adding another strand of 15s down this side of the pearl. This way, each of the 11s is connected top and bottom, and your pearl won't wobble on your rope.

To add strands of beads, like I did with my olive and gold necklace, string the number of beads you would like, and end it with an 11; skip the 11, and go back down through the strand of beads, and through the 11 you started from from the opposite side, as if you had completed one stitch. (Don't pull these stitches super tight, or it will kink up on you as an end result; just snug it up.) Go through the next base bead and repeat; do this a total of four times, so that you have four strands of beads, each ending in an 11. Go back up through the last strand you've made, so that you are exiting the end 11. Gather your strands in your non dominant hand, and needle through the 11s on the ends of the strands to turn the 11s into a circle; that is now your base to begin the next cubic RAW unit and continue your rope.

All of my ropes have been 24" or longer, so I haven't added any clasps to them. To connect your ends together, use one end of your rope as the 'bottom' of your unit, and the other end as the 'top' of your unit. All you do with this is add the side beads; add a bead, go through the corresponding bead on the bottom, and add a bead before going through the top again. You will only need to add one bead for the second stitch, and one for the third. You don't have to add any at all in the fourth stitch, just circle stitch through the four beads that are already there and knot and end your thread.

That's it! Just play with it and have fun, no rules. :)

(I hope this was clear, or at least vaguely clear... if you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.)

Ok, dear lady, I will just have to bookmark this post, cause I definitely need some lessons in CRAW first! You tickle me making it sound so effortless. RAW is one of the harder stitches for me anyway, though. I think my brain isn't mathematical enough. Not good since I'm teaching my oldest Pre-algebra this year! :)

You're very welcome! I just hope you have fun with it, ladies! And, Kristen, my love, the purple and turquoise and copper mix was one of Beverly Ash Gilbert's, not mine, silly! :) You can mix 'em up, just look through inspiration photos (they're everywhere on FB!!) and choose your favorites!! :D

That necklace has been one I have liked since the first time I saw it on your page. I have finall6y reminded myself how to do RAW since I'd not done it for a few years. I'm just about ready to tackle CRAW. Thank you so much for this information!!!

Ok, I got a bunch of beads together but I find myself really nervous about putting it all together. Dumping all those carefully organized and labeled beads into a soup is really scary to me. There's no going back once I do that. Do you usually stick w/ two or three colors (like the current one you're doing) or are more okay? Any hints for picking colors. Color is my thing but I'm just having a really hard time with it here. ARG!! I'm probably overthinking this (it's been known to happen!). I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks, Nancy.

Thanks, Nancy for sharing your ideas with us. RAW was the first stitch I learned, but I haven't made anything using CRAW, and I'm seeing it everywhere. With your tips, I think I will give it a try. Your colors and positioning of accent beads make your necklaces so appealing.

Dear Nancy, thanks for sharing your creative beading!!! This raw rope is really a gorgeous idea...I'm also nervous to mix shapes and colours but I'll try...the ropes are so charming!Have a nice dayJolanda

Nancy, I'm wondering if you can clarify? I've gone over this with a fine tooth comb trying to envision all of it before I start. In your "unit" section on the second page - should the second step be: "Then I add an 11 and 2 15s, then 2 15s and one 11, then finish the cube with one 11." - it's confusing when you have to think out each step with the direction of the thread in mind. The other question I had was in the third sentence... isn't it "two size 15 beads as each side bead" rather than two size 11 beads as side beads? I LOVE your tutorial and I can't wait to apply this to my bead soup!

Thanks so much everyone!! I appreciate all of the feedback and I'm happy to share!!

@kmemho - Yes, you're right, it's supposed to say two 15s rather than two 11s, thank you for pointing that out! As far as how that one stitch goes: You start by picking up 2 size 15s, one 11, and 2 more size 15s - go back through your base bead and the next base bead. Now you will pick up two 15s and one 11, and go back through the last two 'side' 15s and your base bead and through the next base bead. Now you'll repeat that and all two 15s and one 11, and go through the previous stitch's 'side' 15s and through your base bead and then up through the side beads from your very first stitch in this unit. In the closing stitch, you only pick up the 11, and go through the previous stitch's side beads, the base bead, the first stitch's side beads, and through the bead added in this stitch. Then you go ahead and close up that unit before starting the next. I hope this helps. :)

It does help! What I was missing was when you first create the 2*15+11+2*15 stitch, to create the next one I think I was going through the newest 2*15 side RATHER than going thru the next base bead. So then I was adding an 11+2*15 but since you went thru the base, then you added the 2*15+11. I think I gotta go back to Heather's video. I've done a CRAW piece before, but maybe I did it wrong. Nothing like getting a fundamental stitch wrong! Thx!!

You may not have gotten it wrong at all! I have found that there are two separate and distinct thread path methods that people use with this stitch- and it sounds like you have been using the one I always used, which is a very pure form of RAW to do the cubic rope. I believe that Heather's thread path is actually an easier path to follow - but it isn't the pure RAW that I had learned to begin with, it's a bit more like circle stitch, but you end up with the same cube. So, you may just be finding a new thread path for something you and I have been doing differently for awhile, lol!!!

Nancy, I had heard of CRAW, but decided to put investigating the stitch on the back burner - until Heather did her video. Then I was hooked and doing it like mad! I tried doubling the beads, turning corners, making points, and soon had a beadmat full of these little trial pieces of CRAW! Your info on this post is a wonderful addition to Heather's info - many thanks!! Jeanne Evans